The Estradeen Confederacy
The Estradeen Confederacy Demonym: Estradeen, Estradine Capital: '''Estradeen '''Current First Citizen: Amerigo Cecilio Gaspari Di Estradee Geography Estradee is a flat and fertile land. In the north where it borders Borkstvo, the landscape is characterised by gentle, rolling hills, green and coated in white flowers. Heading further inland is a flat countriside of grain and vineyards, gentle streams and small forests. To the south-west, on the border of Stonehelm, modest mountains and foothills, of an alpine quality, provide the cities of Estradee with marble, silver and other precious metals. The coast is characterised by coral beaches and sheer, white cliffs, as well as the many port towns of white-washed houses with domed roofs. Estradee is very densley populated by the standards of most of the Empire. Along the coast there are three major cities. Fercharno, which sits near the border of stonehelm, and has become very wealthy from being the hub of trade between Kazir and the other southern kingdoms and the Empire. Cospareli can be found at the far eastern part of the nation, near Frankmark, and is built along a major trade route with the east. Purccio is known often by the unflatterning nickname 'Farmer's Gate', being built near the centerl of Estradee's rolling farmland, it is one of the smaller major members of the confederacy. North of Purccio is Tenna, a once great city state fallen on harder times, Tenna is uncomfortably close to the border with warlike Borkstvo- and in the times before the Empire often found its lands threatened by the over-mighty kings of the North. Siparno and Filarenze are the final two confederacy members, found in North-west Estradee and south-centeral Estradee respectivley. The unrvialled head of the Estradeen confederacy is''' Estradee''' herself. A ruin at the time of the confederacies founding, she has since been elevated by her prominiant political city to be the weathiest city in the empire. There is a saying that all the trade of the east and south must pass through the ivory gates of Estradee, and it isn't far wrong. History "Once our glories numbered more than the stars in the sky. We who built Estradee, jewel of the south, who with magics long lost fashioned spiralling, gold-topped towers which reach to the very heavens themselves. We who crossed wild seas to make this our home. How far we have fallen, that now the artist knows no tool but the sword, the engineer knows naught beyond siege and the king thinks only of extending his realm." - Julian Cesare, The Peacemaker. 'Origins and the Age of Glory' Modern Estradeen scholars agree that the Estradeens originally hailed from Kazir and founded their capitol there in the year 883 B.B. Their motivation for leaving is lost to time, some say they fled the devestation of the demon wars, others that they were colonists, seeking little more than trade. Upon reaching their new home these immigrants founded Est'rhadeeh, the precursor of the modern city. They extended their infulence along the modern territory, but also into Frankmark, Borkstvo and Stonehelm. This time is considered a golden age by Estradeens. In Est'rahdeeh there ruled an emperor, and the land was unified. Few records survive of this period, as so much was destroyed in the Age of the Axe. 'Age of the Axe' When their modest empire collapsed, due to overextension and inbreeding, the Estradeens where thrown into centuries of civil war. The lands which now make up the Estradeen Confederacy where wracked by near constant warfare between rival, petty city states, fighting over the shattered ruins of their empire, none powerful enough to permenantly eliminate the others. Lesser kings, doges and First Citizens rose and fell with the seasons, the alliances shifting with the day. Estradee city itself was all but an abandoned husk of it's former glory, it's domes fallen, it's golden arictecture broken apart to fund the wars of its petty kings. In Fercharno, 300 years before conquest by the Empire, their rose a leader- Prince Julian I, Julian the Peacemaker, Julian the Great. Julian, raised on stories of the glory of fallen Estradee, abdicated his crown, passing it to his brother, and took up a life of scholarly pursuit. He became convinced the only way to regain the glory of the old times would be to unite the cities of Estradee. Military means had always failed, diplomacy was the only route. And so, impossibly, Julian wandered the land, one by one convincing the Dukes, Barons and leaders of the land that unification would restore wealth, commerce and peace. And one by one they fell to his silken tounge, some saying he even employed magic to bend their wills, making him a mighty mage indeed- for many of the Estradeen leaders of the time where themselves mages. When asked which city would lead this new alliance, Julian never had a moments doubt. Together they would rebuils Estradee, and make it the neutral center of their new confederacy, a hub for politics, debate, and trade. Within twelve years of his death, Estradee was a nation once more, and though at times it can seem loose, the Estradeen cities are bound together by mutral language, culture and ethnicity 'The Secpond Epoch' In the now rarely used Estradeen caldender, the Age of Traimph marks the start of the 2nd epoch of their people. In Imperial terms, the second epoch began at 239 B.B. The begining of the Second Epoch (known often as the Century of Constitution) is where much of modern Estradeen culture began to fall into a regonisable place. Colcus Morteno was elected First Citizen, the first man to hold the position. The first written constitution was declared. It was manly a formality, slavery had been illegal in almost all of Estradee for centuries- but it made official many commonly held beliefs.The early First Citizens pursued a program of rebuilding, and of founding many universities and institutions of learning. Many famous works of Estradeen art where produced in this period. The statue of Julian Ceasre 'Ceasare di Compesta', The famous Jeweled tower of Fezi, and the domed Palace of the Estates (still the largest known non-religious building in the Empire). 'Age of Suffering' This age of reason and construction came to an abrupt end with the arrival of the Nordic Empire in the southern parts of the world. The Nordic advance had been noted with increasing worry by the Estradeens for decades. In early times they had fought several wars against them. The First Estradeen-Nordic war went disasterously for the Estradeens. Lead by High-General Compello Fiani, the Estradeens grossly underestrimated the Nords, and where massacred at the Field of Tears. This defeat would mark the last time the Estradeen's would invade Northern territory in recorded history. The next notable conflict between the Nords and Estradeens occured years later, during the Nordic invasion of Celland. The Estradeens, nervous over the Nordic advance, supplied and fianced King Teàrlach the War-Torn, as well as sheltering him in their borders. Things came to a head when the Nords invaded in 62 B.B:, besieging the ancient and beautiful city of Tenna,''' and eventually sacking it, putting men to the sword and taking its women and children into slavery (according to the Estradeen chroniclers at least). Exaggerated or no, the massacre that took place there was certinally savage, and Tenna has never recovered its full glory. Frightened by the fall of Tenna, the Estradeens marched north to meet the Nords in battle. With them came members of the '''Cellish free forces. Who had come to aid the Estradeen in thanks for financial and limited military aid offered in their own invasion by the Nords. After two humilating defeats at Relano and Siparno, Estradee looked ready to fall. Just when things seemed most dire, a young immigrant woman, a Sullajuk from the distant south, rallied the shattered Estradeen forces with her stories of godly visions. Mnabwe Sukka became a symbol of victory, and the Northmen suffered a shattering defeat at the Fields of Joy (renamed from Finarno Marsh in retrospect by the chronicler Jene di Purccio), where joint Estradeen and Cellish forces defeated a numerically superior Nord army. The role of Cellish forces in this particular battle lead the the establishment of the Finarno Guard. A group of soldiers recruited from Cellish immigrants who are the personal guard of the First Citizen. The war dragged on until 31 B.B: During this time Mnabwe had been captured and executed by the nords, but the Estradeens had managed to hold their capitol and most of the east and south-west. A stalemate lead to an eventual truce. The Nords picked the shattered ruins of Tenna as a location for The Tenna Accord, probably in a direct insult to the exhausted Estradeens. Though they maintained their independence, the terms where humilating. Northern Estradee was to be occupied by the Nords. The Estradeens were to be forced to pay obscene tributes yearly, and where essentially a client kingdom. Worst of all, the Nordics practised slavery in the hallowed streets of Fercharno,'' buying and selling Estradeen captives. 'Age of Faith' The rise of '''Kastus' would spell an end to Estradeen submission to the Nordic Empire. As soon as his rebellion began, Estradeen merchants where funding his forces. In turn, Estradee was very quickly converted to Kastus' new version of religion, which was an attractive prospect to the bleagured and angry populace.With their armies stretched to breaking point fighting the rebellion, only a skeleton garrison was left to hold northern Estradee, many of whom where levied in the country itself. As a result, before long the Estradeen forces pushed out the remaining nords. At the ringing ot the bell in 1 A.B, the First Citizen of Estradee was there to bend his knee and swear fealty. The descion had been made the following week in the Palace of the Estates. Some had argued that they were simply trading one Empire for another, but fears of Nordic reprisal lead to the final descion. "We are stronger united than divided. The only way to combat a barbarian empire of slave-mongers and cannibals is to build a civilised empire of freedom and enlightenment."- First Citizen Gorgio Gocanzolla Joining the Pontetate Empire heralded the begining of the 'Age of Faith', a period of growth, education and commerce unequaled since the Century of Constitution. It has ended abruptly with the death of Kastus. Estradeen scholars are calling the new epoch 'The Age of Turmoil' Politics Estradee has a dense and complicated political system compared to most parts of the Empire. Power is divided into multiple levels. The First Citizen, The Estates General and Local rulers. Local rulers are the lowest on this scale- in theory. Within their own lands their authority varies. Within Estradeen territory there are Dukes, Lords, even Princes, as well as a number of elected legates, magnates and rulers, and even the Lord-Bishop of Filarenze. These rulers have their own methods of governance. Within their own territories, they can administer justice, pass some laws (inculding tolls, trade taxes, punishments for certain crimes, etc). All these leaders are second in authority to the Estates General, who- theoretically, can command them to repeal laws- though of course in practice the balance is rather more diplomatic. The Estates General is composed of three Estates. Low, Citizen and Elector. The Low Estate has no real power. Theoretically anybody in the Estradeen Confederacy can journey to Estradee and sit in the Low Estate, arguing politics. Any consesus the Low Estate comes to must then be passed onto the Citizen's Estate for approval. Its haphazard nature means sessions are always packed with a confused rabble of people shouting at each other in different accents from all over the Confederacy. On the almost unheard of occasion any consesus is reached, the draft is always rejected by the Citizen's estate. The Low Estate is not without it's political importance, however, as it alows for the politically radical to exchange views, and the rulers of Estradee can use it to incite riot or mob action, a common feature of Estradeen politics. They meet in the Hall of Commons in Estradee city. The Citizen Estate is composed of Estradeen citizens. To be a citizen in Estradee you must be male and own land valued to the worth of a certain amount. In practice, around 5% of Estradee's population has a right to vote in the Citizen Estate. Every Estradeen citizen theoretically can go to the Citizen Estate's meeting house in their local confederacy city known as an Assembly. Here they can vote for their Elector, and also read any proposals offered up by the Hall of Commons or draft their own proposals to offer to the Electors. Citizen assemblies with also elect members of their group to sit in the'' Palace of the Estates'', essentially the Estradeen senate, where both citizens with local constituancies, electors and local rulers can meet. The Elector Estate is composed of around fifty or so men, the heads of the most powerful merchant dynasties in the nation. These men can achieve office in two ways, they can be selected and voted for by the (often bribed) citizen assemblies that litter the nation, or they can by a 'Commendation', a special bill which allows them instance acsess to the Elector Estate, but is also very expensive. The Electors are able to vote on who will be First Citizen. The''' First Citizen's '''power, in theory, is absolute. He is able to overule the bills passed up by Electors, Low and Citizen Estates. He is also able to challenge local rulers on some policies (though not others). Sucsessful First Citizens are very wary men. They employ enough of their power to maintain order, but don't use so much as to enrage the very volitile Estradeen mob. A First Citizen will typically sevre an eight year term. There is no limit to the number of terms that can be served. Ethnicity, Culture and demographics The Estradeen are short in comparisson to Northerners. A typical Estradeen woman will be around 5'2" to 5'5". An Estradeen man will usually be 5'5" to 5'7". Their complexions vary from dusky to pale, though tending towards the dusky. Their hair is usually dark and curly, though very occasionally red. Estradeens pride themselves on their liberties and freedoms, though in practice they are not as many as they think. Estradeen fashion tends towards an eastern style, with both men and women wearing robes at all levels of societies. Ponchos and shawls are also popular for both genders. Northern Estradeens, called Tennari, are often infused with Borkstovan blood. They tend to be taller, and their clothing tends towards a more barbaric fashion. There are some notable immigrant communities in Estradee city, with a Kaziri quarter, as well as men from futher south called Sullajuks. Category:Pontetate Empire Category:Estradee Category:Kingdom